


Our Feet May Leave, But Not Our Hearts

by zarabithia



Category: Batgirl (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-08
Updated: 2010-10-08
Packaged: 2018-06-03 21:54:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6628057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zarabithia/pseuds/zarabithia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassandra returns to Gotham just prior to the events of "The Return of Bruce Wayne."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Our Feet May Leave, But Not Our Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> "Where we love is home,  
> Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."  
> ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

" - shut up, _fat_ girl - agh!"

Cass noted with not a _small_ degree of pleasure that Stephanie's response times had dramatically decreased. As Cass dropped down onto the rooftop, Stephanie jumped back far more quickly than Spoiler ever would have.

Stephanie also responded much more quickly than the current Robin, who found himself being lifted up in such a fashion that his suit rode up rather painfully. Stephanie tensed, and Cass thought perhaps it would have been prudent not to wear a mask during her re-introduction.

Nightwing - _no_. He was still Batman, Cass reminded herself. Regardless of what he was calling himself, Dick Grayson remained calm, which meant he recognized both her and her intentions.

Of course he did. He'd always been a body reader - almost as good as Cass was. It came with the acrobatics. He'd told her that once, before Slade had interrupted their friendship in his attempt to destroy Cass's life.

There had been a time when Dick Grayson would have have been relaxed upon seeing her land on the roof and pick up his sidekick. The small amount of worried anticipation Cass was steadily ignoring in her gut began to dissipate. Perhaps she'd been right. Maybe now really _was_ the best time to pick up the pieces.

In her grip, Damian _tried_ to struggle. He was very good and had been trained by true experts.

Unfortunately for him, the experts that had trained Cassandra had been more dedicated and better, and his struggles only made his situation worse.

"Unhand me at once!"

"Not until you apologize," Cass replied. The minute that she spoke, Cass felt Stephanie relax.

Yes, Stephanie _would_ recognize her through her voice. That seemed...very right.

"Apologize for what?" Damian demanded, obviously affronted.

"Her name is Batgirl. You did not regard her as such. You were disrespectful."

Damian ignored her. "Batman! Are you going to stand for this?"

Dick's voice was warm and amused when he spoke. "You know that lesson we were working on last week, Robin? About every action having a consequence? This would be what I was talking about."

"You are going to allow this supervillain to treat me in this fashion in order to prove a point?" Damian's voice rose, allowing him to express the frustration that his immobilized hands and feet could not. "Wait until I tell my fa- the other Batman!"

"She's not a supervillain," Stephanie spoke up. Her voice was even warmer than Dick's, and held not a secret amount of enjoyment.

"No," Dick agreed. "She's family."

"My family is big enough! We do not need additions!" Damian proclaimed, but his mouth scrunched up in concentration, trying to figure out who she was.

"Tough," Cass replied. "Technically, I was here first. You have a sister, whether you want one or not."

"A sister who can kick your ass," Stephanie added jubilantly.

"Cassandra Cain," Damian hissed. It wasn't quite a sneer; at least, it wasn't the type of sneer that Cass expected from someone calling her successor _fatgirl._ "You have finally come back, then? Father will be pleased, no doubt. Even after I tell him of your abuse."

"Apologize and the abuse will stop," Cass replied simply.

Damian glared at her, Stephanie and Dick, roughly in that order. It was the most movement he could manage, given his restraint.

Seeing that he was unable to move and that Dick wasn't going to help him, Damian uttered a noise that managed to be both growl and a sigh. "I apologize, _Batgirl._ "

True to her word, Cass set him down. "Very good, little brother," she praised.

Damian rubbed his neck and looked like he was contemplating throwing a kick. Instead, he offered, "I suppose the appropriate sibling response would be a 'welcome home.'"

"It's a good thing you and I aren't siblings, then," Steph said to Cass, "because I have an entirely different kind of welcoming in mind." With that, she stepped forward and kissed Cass warmly on the lips.

It wasn't their first kiss. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But it was the first kiss that didn't feel hesitant, and it was the first kiss that they had shared while in the presence of another.

Given Dick Grayson's body language around certain members of the hero community, Cass didn't think he would care. If Damian cared...well, Cass would add that to her list of lessons in respect that she would be teaching her little brother.

"Our family is entirely too incestuous," Damian informed Dick. "It's why there are such rumors about Batman and Robin. I blame _you_ , Grayson."

"And that, Little D, is our cue to leave. Before you get a real ass-kicking."

Cass heard Batman and Robin leap off the roof top, and she probably should have paused to say goodbye. But at the moment, her hands were full of much more pressing matters.

When they finally did break apart, they were alone. Steph grinned widely, and asserted, "I'm glad you chose a costume that didn't cover your mouth."

"I'm pleased with the changes you made to your costume, too," Cass answered. "Particularly the mouth portions." The purple was also a nice touch. It made the legacy Cass had briefly inherited uniquely Stephanie's, in a way that hadn't been Barbara's or Cass's.

Stephanie moved her arms down Cass's arms, wrapping Cass's hands in hers. "I'm so glad you're back! I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," Cass admitted. "Though none of you seem very surprised to see me."

Stephanie laughed and squeezed Cass's hands. "Well, this _is_ Gotham."

"Which means that Batman has known of my whereabouts since my plane landed in the United States?" Cass paused and added, "I mean, the other Batman. The first one."

"Which means that Oracle's been stalking you since you left Gotham," Stephanie corrected. "Well, and Tim too, but he's stalker boy, so really, he doesn't count."

All those times she'd felt alone, she hadn't been. Cass didn't know whether to feel grateful, or to feel silly for thinking her family would have let her escape to the other side of the world without keeping tabs on her.

She should have known better, she thought. "I think Timothy and Barbara both count, Stephanie."

"Maybe so," Stephanie agreed. "Speaking of, Barbara's been yelling in my ear for the past five minutes. Canary and Timmy are almost finished with the balloons and if we don't start heading over there soon, she's sending Zinda and Huntress after us."

That worry she'd had about coming home seemed rather silly, in retrospect. "We shouldn't keep her waiting."

"Nope!" Stephanie agreed. "You hear that, Oracle? Batgirl Two and Three are on our way. Yeah, it's a real Batgirl reunion, alright. With some other not-as-cool heroes thrown in the mix."

Cass grinned as she stepped up to the ledge. "I welcome the not-as-cool heroes, too, Stephanie."

"Long as you don't invite them along to our private reunion. The one we'll be having afterwards?" Stephanie asked quietly.

"No. That will be for us alone," Cass assured, before she leapt.

A moment later, she felt Stephanie leave the rooftop as well. It was a wonderful feeling, having someone at her back again.


End file.
